Keith Butler Luckily Stays With Pittsburgh Steelers

By Brandon Sweeney

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Every season it seems the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a fight to keep linebacker’s coach Keith Butler on the staff due to the great knowledge he has defensively. Butler is expected to earn defensive coordinator royalties when Dick LeBeau decides to step down for the Steelers. Butler is an unsung hero that has brought along so many great linebackers in the Steelers’ defense.

Rumors broke earlier in the day that the Tennessee Titans were trying to make a move on Butler and to make him the defensive coordinator under head coach Ken Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt and Butler are good friends and go back to when both of them coached together for the Steelers. Whisenhunt tried hiring Butler another two times while he was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

Now, according to Steelers’ reporter Gerry Dulac, the move to make Butler the Titans’ defensive coordinator was scuttled for undisclosed reasons. Dulac also reports that the Titans are now focused on another former Steelers’ coach, Ray Horton.

The Steelers will be more than happy to keep Butler. As a position coach, his resume screams for a promotion. But instead, Butler chooses to stick behind the the wise LeBeau. Butler has helped develop guys like Joey Porter, James Harrison, Larry Foote, LaMarr Woodley, James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons and more.

“He’s one of those wizards,” said Foote last Tuesday. “Being around him, he knows football in and out. He knows offensive schemes, he knows how to prepare us for our next opponent. He’s just a football guy, he just knows the game well and I’m quite sure one day he’s going to make a heck of a coach in this league, a head coach.”

So, the Steelers will retain Butler as he remains the highest paid linebackers coach in the league. Everybody wins.

Brandon Sweeney covers the Pittsburgh Steelers and NFL football for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @NFLNSTUFF, Like him on Facebook , add him to Google+, and Trust him on Sulia.